Chapter 5 Common Knowledge of Immortal Sects: The Goal of Qi Induction
“Your daily lessons are not all about basic reading and writing. In the afternoon, we will discuss common knowledge about the immortal sect. Although it is up to you whether you want to attend the lessons, I still hope that you will come. After all, if you don’t know some common knowledge, it’s one thing to make a fool of yourself, but I’m also afraid that you might unintentionally break taboos and be punished.”
"Huh? Is there another punishment?" A sixteen or seventeen-year-old male disciple in the back seat looked grim.
Senior Zhou: "Of course, there are. Furthermore, the sect has a dedicated Discipline Hall where those who commit offenses will be sent. This afternoon, I will explain some of the sect's rules to you. The most important thing is to have good intentions and not do evil; otherwise, you will not escape the consequences, and the future will be uncertain... I hope you will always keep these in mind."
Senior Zhou only talked about other things at the beginning, and then he just kept teaching his disciples to read.
By the end of the morning, Song Yin had memorized most of what Senior Zhou had told her. The academy provided writing materials (pens, ink, paper, and inkstones) for free, so the disciples didn't need to prepare them themselves. In the mortal realm, anyone wanting to read and write had to provide their own writing materials, which was a significant expense for ordinary families. The fact that the Immortal Firmament Sect provided each disciple with these materials made most of the Ding class disciples feel that the Immortal Firmament Sect was incredibly wealthy.
Unbeknownst to them, ordinary paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones were a negligible expense for the Immortal Firmament Sect; after all, nothing was more important to cultivators than cultivation resources. These ideas would eventually subtly and profoundly influence the disciples from the mortal realm.
After the morning classes ended, Song Yin did not return to the bamboo hut; she planned to wait until the afternoon classes were over before going back. Many of the new disciples made the same choice.
They needed to use a teleportation array to get back, which required spirit stones, but they didn't have many spirit stones on them, so they naturally had to be careful with their money.
Song Yin didn't go far; she just strolled around the school.
"Hmph, I thought you were so great, but in the end you still ended up in Class D. I shouldn't have chosen to live in the same area as you yesterday. Don't bother me anymore." The girl's voice was loud in front of Class D's building.
"Do whatever you want, but don't use the guise of 'for everyone' to get things done. In the future, don't involve me in your work, or I'll get rough with you."
The male disciple standing with the girl said, "You think you can get away with anything just because you're given a little attention? You surnamed Song, mind your own business and don't bother the six of us. From now on, the six of us will stay away from you. If you drag us into this again, watch out for your families in the mortal realm."
Song Yin and Shi Heming looked over and saw that it was Song Tian and the others.
Song Tian always liked to bring along his fellow villagers to do whatever he wanted. Because Song Yin and Shi Heming were young, Song Tian would intentionally or unintentionally overlook them.
Song Tian's behavior was tolerable once or twice, but repeated occurrences drew the ire of some of his fellow villagers. These were all young ladies and gentlemen raised in wealthy families, and they couldn't accept being constantly ordered around by Song Tian. Thus, conflict arose, and the twenty people who had initially been united were now divided into two groups.
Song Tian, looking at his younger siblings making a fuss, said, "It's my fault for upsetting you. I just wanted to learn more about the sect with everyone. The floating island next door is also a school, so I thought I'd go take a look. If you don't want to, that's fine too, I respect your decision." He then said to the other fellow villagers beside him, "Let's go take a look next door."
Everyone else listened to Song Tian and followed him out of the outer school.
The six people who had broken ties with Song Tian walked over.
The girl in the lead saw Song Yin and Shi Heming and sneered, "I almost forgot about you two. You're from the same peasant background as Song Tian. Why don't you go to the school next door with your good brother Song Tian? Especially you little brat, you share the same surname as Song Tian, which sounds like siblings. It's a pity your whole family is dead, you might be a jinx. Even if you wanted to follow Song Tian, he wouldn't take you. He secretly said before that taking two kids like you would be troublesome."
Shi Heming's expression instantly darkened; these six people were no good either.
Song Yin: "When did Song Tian ever say such a thing?"
Girl: "Naturally, he was whispering with his most loyal lackeys, and we overheard it."
Song Yin: "Oh, so what?" So what? She never intended to get involved with Song Tian and the others from the beginning. If needed, she would rather go to Senior Sister Cheng, who had shown her kindness.
Song Yin's reply, "So what?" made the girl feel like she had punched a cotton ball.
His anger surged. Song Tian could tolerate being bullied, but why did a six-year-old child have the right to look down on him? "Get out of the way!"
Shi Heming suddenly spoke up: "Are you three hundred jin or four hundred jin?"
Girl: "Do you think I'm a pig?!"
Shi Heming: "Isn't that right? You can't even squeeze through such a wide road and need others to give way to you, aren't you a pig?"
Song Yin looked at Shi Heming as if she had seen a ghost. In the past few days, he had never sworn and was very obedient. At most, he was just a little prone to crying. This was only the second time she had seen him swear.
It's normal to cry easily, after all, life has taken a sudden turn for the worse, like witnessing one's parents being murdered. But it's strange to be confrontational.
The first time was when she was on the flying boat, and Shi Heming told her to get lost. That time, she had precisely hit Shi Heming's sore spot, so it was normal for her to be scolded, and besides, his attack was too weak; he only said "get lost."
This time it's different. No, the person in front of him just said that his whole family was wiped out. Shi Heming must have thought of him again, which is why he exploded.
That's fine.
The girl raised her hand, ready to slap him.
Song Yin reacted quickly, pulling Shi Heming aside to dodge.
Strangely, the girl's hand froze in mid-air; she was completely immobilized. Her face turned deathly pale, and she began to feel fear, finally realizing she wasn't at home but in the world of cultivation. Her followers, one by one, also showed fear and took a few steps back.
"Who? Who is it?" Her voice trembled.
"You've only just entered the sect and you're already causing trouble. I don't think the Immortal Firmament Sect can tolerate a great god like you. You should pack your bags and go home."
A familiar voice rang out.
Qi Zibo stepped out from behind Song Yin, his disdainful gaze falling on the six people.
"Grandpa Qi?"
Qi Zibo's disgusted gaze shifted to Song Yin and Shi Heming, as if he had seen something even more offensive, and he looked away with even greater disdain.
As he passed by the girl, he raised his hand and waved, and the girl returned to normal.
She gasped for breath, glared at Song Yin and Shi Heming, but dared not glare at Qi Zibo. Ignoring the five people behind her, she clutched her chest and hurriedly left.
Seeing the girl leave, the five men hurriedly followed her.
In the blink of an eye, Qi Zibo had already gone far away and disappeared from sight, as if he had just passed by.
Shi Heming: "They are not good people, we should stay away from them."
Compared to this, Song Yin really is a very good friend.
The incident at noon did not affect the afternoon classes.
Song Yin and Shi Heming sat back in their seats from the morning. After Senior Zhou came in, he immediately started talking about common knowledge about the cultivation world and sects.
"The cultivation of mortals is divided into eight major realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation, Body Integration, Tribulation Transcending, and Mahayana. Each major realm is further divided into early, middle, and late stages. The late stage also includes the Great Perfection stage, which means that one is about to break through to a major realm..."
Song Yin listened attentively to Senior Zhou's explanation. She was like a sponge that could never be fully soaked, constantly absorbing new knowledge.
Senior Zhou talked about cultivation realms; he talked about the paths cultivators can choose in the future, which Song Yin interpreted as cultivator professions, such as sword cultivators, sound cultivators, alchemists, etc.; he talked about how the cultivation world is divided into five continents: the East Continent, the West Continent, the South Continent, the North Continent, and the Central Continent, with the Immortal Cloud Sect located in the East Continent.
It also explained that the Immortal Firmament Sect is divided into inner and outer sects. Disciples who reach the Foundation Establishment stage can participate in the sect's annual Foundation Establishment Competition, and those who rank highly can enter the inner sect. Outer sect disciples cannot easily enter the inner sect, while inner sect disciples can freely move between the inner and outer sects. These new disciples all belong to the outer sect. The biggest difference between the inner and outer sects is the amount of cultivation resources they receive; the inner sect receives far more resources than the outer sect.
Outer sect disciples in the Qi Refining stage who have not reached the Foundation Establishment stage by the age of two hundred must leave the sect and fend for themselves elsewhere. If they do not wish to leave the sect, they must pay a certain amount of spirit stones annually in order to remain and continue their cultivation.
Song Yin's mind automatically processed this: What?! Two hundred years of free education, with continued free education only for those who pass, and tuition only for those who fail?! The Immortal Cloud Sect, their wealth and power are terrifyingly immense!
Senior Zhou: "Regardless of whether you are from the inner or outer sect, once your cultivation reaches the Golden Core stage, you can take on disciples. If you are destined, you can also find someone to be your master. If no master is willing to take you on, don't worry or be anxious. There are many disciples from both the inner and outer sects who do not have a master. The academy will regularly have elders from various peaks come to teach and impart knowledge."
Hearing this, Song Yin felt that she could choose any profession; whoever was willing to take her as a disciple, she would become their apprentice. Although many people in the inner and outer sects did not have a master, Senior Zhou had said so, and having a master was definitely better than not having one.
The problem now is, where can she find someone with the cultivation level of the Golden Core stage who is willing to take on a disciple?
Next, Senior Zhou explained the importance of spiritual roots and comprehension for cultivators. In summary, a single spiritual root is best, leading to faster cultivation in the early stages and making one a genius. Having multiple spiritual roots isn't a problem either; in the later stages of cultivation, comprehension becomes crucial. Strong comprehension allows even those with mixed spiritual roots to ascend, a fact documented in the cultivation world.
This surprised Song Yin, because she had a single wood spiritual root. She had worried about what would happen if she didn't have as many spiritual roots as others. Fortunately, having a single spiritual root was a good thing.
As for her comprehension, it's unknown whether she's good at it or not, but she's willing to practice diligently, since diligence can make up for lack of talent.
After a fulfilling day, Song Yin and Shi Heming walked to the teleportation array. Having learned how to use it that morning, they used it to return to the bamboo hut on their own.
Back inside, Song Yin reviewed what she had learned that day.
Finding a master is a long-term goal, but the immediate priority is to learn how to draw qi into the body, because only drawing qi into the body symbolizes the beginning of cultivation.
She chose to keep her distance from Song Tian and his group. As for Qi Zibo, he seemed difficult to get along with, but he had indeed helped her today. Could he be the kind of person who appears aloof but is kind at heart? No, she couldn't jump to conclusions; she needed to observe Qi Zibo further.
Qi Zibo, whom Song Yin was thinking about, was currently moving among the various new disciples.
Song Yin gradually fell asleep while lost in thought, and her life began to become regular, going back and forth between the school and the bamboo hut every day. Within a month, she did not miss a single class.
Compared to other classmates who initially studied diligently and enthusiastically, but later became lax when faced with the difficulty, some even spent half a day studying. When others asked them what they did with the remaining half of the day, they confidently replied that they cultivated with their senior brothers and sisters in the sect and earned spirit stones.
Some were envious, while others continued to study diligently in silence, but many in the class were still affected. Especially after a month, the sect stopped distributing spirit stones to them, on the grounds that they had not yet achieved Qi Induction, and the monthly distribution of spirit stones was a privilege reserved for disciples who had officially embarked on cultivation.
Almost all the students in Class A and Class B had successfully guided Qi into their bodies, and half of the students in Class C had also successfully guided Qi into their bodies. Only a very small number of students in Class D, who had been cultivating with their senior brothers and sisters, had successfully guided Qi into their bodies, which made the rest of Class D anxious.
Song Yin hadn't yet cultivated her inner energy, but in this environment, she also began to consider it. She had no choice; without cultivating inner energy, she would have no source of income.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Song Yin: Wow, there's been free education for two hundred years! [Sprinkling flowers][Rainbow praise]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
